connecticut history

Sumner-Carpenter House // 1806

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I don’t think any state does the Federal style as well as Connecticut (Massachusetts is a close second)! This is the Sumner-Carpenter House, a high-style example of a Federal residence that is located on the backroads of the small town of Eastford, Connecticut. The house was built in 1806 for John Newman Sumner (1775-1831) who resided here until just before his death. The elaborate Federal period house was sold out of the family. After trading hands a half-dozen times, the property was purchased by David and Harriet Carpenter in 1881. The property remained in the Carpenter family for generations, and remained as such after Orlo Carpenter (1865-1938) was killed in the collapse of a barn during the hurricane of 1938. Architecturally, the house has all of the hallmarks of the Federal style, with the symmetrical main facade five bays wide, with a center entrance flanked by wide sidelights, and topped by a fanlight transom and corniced entablature. The window above the entrance is in the Palladian style, with a rounded center window flanked by narrower sashes. The house is very well preserved and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural quality and preservation.

Bartlett House and Barns // c.1840

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We featured Ashford, Connecticut, so now it’s time to explore some of neighboring Eastford! Settled in the early 1700s, the eastern portion of Ashford separated from its parent town in 1847, and became the town of Eastford. Prior to this, light industry, such as the production of cotton batting, twine, and wooden handles, complemented what would remain a predominantly rural agricultural community well into the 20th century. The winding back roads are lined with charming farmhouses bounded by rugged historic stone walls, making the town retain its rural feel. When driving through, I stumbled upon this postcard-worthy historic farm complex. Historic maps show that the property was owned by D. Bartlett in 1869, which appears to be Daniel Bartlett (1812-1898). The Bartlett property is enhanced by two historic barns sited nearby on a bluff overlooking the fields, which were likely once lined with trees or crops. By the 1900s, the property was owned by Nicholas and Clementine Dechand, the small road leading up to the farmhouse was named after the couple.

Old Union Town Hall // 1847

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Union, Connecticut is the smallest (by population) town in the state and it was the last Connecticut town east of the Connecticut River to be settled, largely because of its rough terrain and poor soil. The small town of under 800 residents was incorporated in 1734 and named Union, likely named after the fact that the new town was formed of a “union” of different sections of land which were left over when the boundaries of surrounding towns, though it is still speculation. Union erected this Town Hall building in 1847 which was fitting for the town’s small (and then-declining) population at the time. The one-story clapboard building is vernacular and lacks much adornment of other town halls and institutional buildings of the time period in nearby towns. Eventually, the town built a new city offices building and the small town continues to maintain the former building to this day and it houses the Union Historical Society.

David Scott House // 1714

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One of the oldest extant houses in Ridgefield, Connecticut is this charmer, which was moved not once, but twice! The house was built for David Scott (1678-1760), an Irish-born resident of the town, who purchased one of the town’s original Main Street house lots which sat undeveloped. Scott had abandoned his wife, Mary in Ireland, and settled in Ridgefield, entering into a new relationship with Elizabeth St. John. A woman scorned, Mary unexpectedly arrived in America and filed suit against her husband, citing Elizabeth as the “pretended wife of David Scott.” A judge awarded Mary three acres of her husband’s land. David Scott and his second wife lived at this 1714 house until they moved in 1740. His property (which included two enslaved Africans) was sold to Vivus Dauchy, a Frenchman. In the 1920s, as the Scott House section of Main Street commercialized, the owners relocated this house to Catoonah Street, building a commercial block in the former location. After numerous other owners, the most recent owner, The Ridgefield Preservation Trust (now the Ridgefield Historical Society) put it to use as a new historical society headquarters, after saving the Colonial-era home from demolition for stores and a parking lot! It was relocated to its current site and has been meticulously restored.

Ridgefield Train Depot // 1870

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In 1870, the Ridgefield Branch branch line of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad and later the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad was built connecting the sleepy village of Ridgefield to Branchville train station via the main line. The line was an early risk, built to offer service to the wealthy New Yorkers who began arriving to spend their summers in Ridgefield. Many of these “summer people” had their own private railroad cars, with chauffeurs meeting them as they arrived, driving horse and buggies to bring them and their luggage to their estates located throughout the town. As travel shifted to personal automobile, ridership dropped in the early 20th century, and the branch was replaced by bus service in 1925. Freight service was scarce, and lasted longer, to 1964. The depot was sold to the Ridgefield Supply Company, who used the 1870 building as storage for decades until it was disassembled, moved and rebuilt by the Ridgefield Supply Company in 2015, as part of their expansion. The historic station today provides an important link to Ridgefield’s past.

Ridgefield Public Library // 1901

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The Ridgefield Public Library is an intriguing Beaux Arts style building from the turn of the 20th century. Built in 1901, the brick structure replaced the Smith Tavern, a 1798 frame structure built by Amos Smith right on Main Street. In 1900 the Smith Family sold the property to James N. Morris who had this library built in memory of his wife, Elizabeth, donating it to the town. Architect Raleigh G. Gildersleeve is credited with the design which is comprised of a one-story building constructed of brick with cast stone trim details and ironwork at the door. The library was given later additions, which are recessive in location and detailing to let the original building shine, as it should!

Town-Sheffield Mansion // c.1836-1957

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One of the biggest architectural losses in New Haven was the 1957 demolition of the Town-Sheffield Mansion, formerly on Hillhouse Avenue. The mansion was built around 1836 by esteemed American architect and civil engineer Ithiel Town (1784-1844) as his own home on Hillhouse Avenue in the Greek Revival style; here he kept what was then an extraordinary architectural library, which was said to have been larger than any other personal collection anywhere at the time, including that of Sir John Soane in London. After Town’s death, the house was bought by Joseph Earl Sheffield in 1859, benefactor of the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, and modified by local architect, Henry Austin in the Italianate Villa style. Alterations included two large asymmetrical towers, a new porch, and symmetrical side wings with large bay windows. After Sheffield’s death in 1889, the building was used for laboratory space for the school. Although the house was one of Austin’s most important works, it was demolished in 1957 by Yale to make way for Dunham Laboratory.

Yale University – Alumni Hall // 1851-1911

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Alumni Hall at Yale was designed and built between 1851-1853, at the northwest corner of Yale’s Old Campus. Its was designed by Gothic specialist architect Alexander Jackson Davis, who completed Dwight Hall (the Old Library) a some years prior. The building had a large, open floorplan on the first floor for large gatherings as well as the entrance examinations, along with the biennial examinations that every student had to take at the end of his sophomore and senior years. As the building turned 50 years old, the campus around it was already looking very different. Shifting priorities for dormitory space in the yard necessitated its demolition for Wright Hall (next post). Alumni Hall was razed in 1911, but its two crenelated towers were salvaged when the building was demolished. They were incorporated into Weir Hall which has been incorporated into Jonathan Edwards College, one of Yale’s residential colleges.

Richard C. Lee U. S. Courthouse // 1913

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Image by Brandon Bartoszek

The monumental Richard C. Lee U.S. Courthouse is located on the west side of the Town Green in New Haven, Connecticut, a stone’s throw from the New Haven City Hall. The building is an excellent example of Classical Revival architecture. The building originally served both as a courthouse and post office, although the post office moved to another location in 1979. James Gamble Rogers designed the building, which was constructed between 1913 and 1919. Rogers was also the architect for structures at Yale University, his alma mater (more on some of those later). The building was the last to be designed under the auspices of the Tarsney Act (1890-1912), which allowed the Treasury Department to hire private architects rather than use only designers employed by the federal government. Classical architecture was commonly seen in federal building design during the early twentieth century because officials believed it conveyed the dignity of the federal government. The New Haven courthouse displays several hallmarks of the style, including the colossal portico and pediment with columns capped by Corinthian capitals. The courthouse was slated for demolition in the 1960s as part of an urban renewal plan. However, a coalition of federal judges and local historic preservationists rallied to save it. In 1998, the building was renamed to honor Richard C. Lee, a former New Haven mayor who was a pivotal figure in the building’s preservation as well as the city’s revitalization.

New Haven City Hall // 1861

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Less than four centuries ago the area which is now New Haven, Connecticut, was the home of a small tribe of Native Americans, the Quinnipiac. White settlers arrived by 1638 and made a deal with the local sachem (leader) to protect the native Quinnipiac from raiding bands of Pequots and Mohawks in return of purchasing some of the tribe’s land by the Puritans. By 1640 a complete government had been established and the settlement, originally called Quinnipiac, was renamed Newhaven (later New Haven). The town plan was based on a grid of nine squares. In accordance with old English custom, the central square, now the Green, was designated a public common. By 1718, in response to a large donation from East India Company merchant Elihu Yale, an early college relocated from Old Saybrook to New Haven, and its name was changed to Yale College. The city grew exponentially with industry, education, and commerce, becoming one of the wealthiest and diverse cities in the state. As the city grew after the Civil War, a new City Hall was built. The New Haven City Hall was constructed in 1861-2 and was designed by local architect Henry Austin. To the left of City Hall and set back further from the street was the old Courthouse (1871-3) designed by David R. Brown (1831-1910). Together the buildings provide a united facade marking the first phase of the High Victorian Gothic Style in America. By the 1980s, plans for a new Government Center were discussed following decades of deferred maintenance and a decaying building. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed, and the facades of the building were preserved with a modern structure constructed behind to house city offices, from plans by local architect Herbert S. Newman. The Victorian Gothic and Post-Modern building stands proudly today, anchoring the east end of the Town Green.